Disclaimer - I do not own Oliver Twist/Oliver:)

Sethsmababy - Blimey, I never thought I'd get so many reviews from one person in one evening! Although some of the things you point out make me cringe in embarrassment you are a brilliant reviewer. Thanks so much for the help :)

Broken Amethyst - Thanks so much for the reviews and encouragement - you're fantastic! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Well, on we go - the BIG one zero - Chapter 10

Hope you like it, although this chapter is a bit, dark I suppose :S

Read and R E V I E W

Chapter 10 - A bad experience for Miss King

Charlie and Ace danced around.

"Talk about pickin' a lucky card!" Ace cheered, when Barnsey and Annie walked in, holding hands.

Annie, who had now been living there for four weeks, smiled widely.

"If only Emmy and Dodger were as straight to the point as you two!" Charlie grinned

"If only!" Ace laughed as Dodger tore through the room, holding Emmy's apron aloft.

"GIVE IT BACK 'ERE YOU... YOU... DODGER!" Emmy yelled, racing after him.

They disappeared through the door to the stairs, and after a minute Emmy returned, wearing Dodger's hat (holding her own hat in her hands) and doing a very accurate impression of his swagger. Seconds later Dodger emerged, Fagin right behind him, holding the unfortunate Master Dawkins by the scruff of the neck.

"Dodger! Emmy! Out NOW I say!" Fagin bellowed in his slightly hoarse voice "Go, and do somethin' USEFUL!"

Emmy and Dodger scarpered as the other pickpockets sniggered at Fagin's exasperated face.

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Emmy and Dodger wandered down the streets. It was a busy day, market day, and there were huge crowds.

"I'll stay around 'ere, you go over there by that bookshop" Dodger pointed at the bookshop across an alley from the shop where he stood, "And 'ere's your apron back!" he threw the apron to Emmy, who caught it and put it back on.

"Ok," she replied "See you in a bit"

Emmy walked over to the window of the bookshop, and pretended to be looking in. A lady with two children passed her,

'They're no good' she thought, and wondered how long it would be before anyone worthwhile passed...

Just then, Emmy saw a young man walk down the alley to her right. He looked well off, and had a wallet sticking out of his jacket pocket.

Emmy smirked, and slunk after him.

Shem came up right next to him, but now they were in the deserted alleyway, with no jostling crowd to disguise her actions.

The man was now looking through the grimy window of a sleazy tavern, then, drawing back, he opened the door and went in.

Emmy wrinkled her nose in confusion, wondering what on earth a respectable young man would want in a pub like that, even worse than the Whipping Stocks.

But just as she was pondering this, and about to turn around and head back out of the alley, something happened. A man, red faced and poorly dressed, staggered from the door of the tavern. He was clearly drunk, and there was something about him that Emmy did not like.

He leered at her, she took an involuntary step backwards, becoming more and more nervous. Then, as quick as lightening, he grabbed her shoulders and forced his mouth over hers, his hands roaming to places that she wouldn't care to speak about. He pulled back for a minute, still holding her in an iron grip.

Emmy struggled wildly, twisting her arms and kicking her legs as the man backed her further and further down the empty alley.

His breath was rancid, his lips cold and rough. Emmy turned her head to free her mouth, and managed to shout, her voice ragged with fear and pain,

"DODGER! DODGER, PLEASE!"

But here she was once again silenced as the man, amazingly steady on his feet, clapped a hand over her mouth, and started wrenching open the buttons on the back of her dress...

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Dodger was having a good day. He already had two handkerchiefs and a wallet. He had his eye on another, when he heard something. His name. He looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Then he heard it again, louder.

"Emmy?" he looked to where Emmy had been, minutes before...

"Crap!" he exclaimed, running towards the alley that he had heard her voice coming from.

As he ran down the alley he heard her shout again,

"No! NO!"

Then he saw her. She was flat against the back wall of the alley, her dress half off her shoulders, desperately trying to elude her attacker.

"EMMY!" Dodger shouted, running full pelt down the slimy alley, "Get AWAY from 'er, you BASTARD! GET AWAY FROM 'ER!"

The man turned in surprise, stumbling in his drunkenness. Upon seeing Dodger, and the other people who had gathered at the sound of the yelling, he turned and fled back into the grimy tavern from whence he had appeared.

Emmy had collapsed onto the wall, trying to pull her dress back onto her shoulders. Giving up, she broke down, throwing herself into Dodger's arms.

"Oh D-Dodger, I-I... 'e, 'e tried to... to"

"Shh, calm down, c'mon let's go 'ome" Dodger intoned, feeling rather awkward,

"No, n-no... I d-don't want to see... anyone"

"OK, let's go back to the market place then"

Still holding Emmy tightly in his arms, he steered her back out of the alley,

"I-It was 'orrible, Dodge, 'orrible... I don't never want to kiss anyone ever... EVER, again..."

Dodger rested his forehead on hers, looking into her eyes, glassy with tears.

"Don't worry, I won't let no-one kiss you"

Emmy buried her face in his neck, sending shivers down his spine

'NO! This is not the time for weird feelings...' he thought to himself desperately, but his brain continued 'So, she "Never wants to kiss anyone again" eh? Bad luck old boy'

"In fact, I won't let anyone NEAR you, if you don't want 'em!" Dodger said out loud to Emmy.

Emmy laughed weakly, and Dodger rested his forehead on hers again, looking straight into her blue eyes, which were dark with hurt.

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Emmy looked into the muddy chocolate swirl of Dodger's eyes. Any other day, she would have been wishing he would kiss her... but today, after that ordeal, all that filled her mind were those cold lips, and rough hands...

'I'm such a mess' she thought 'he'd never like me! I should probably just give up... What if he hadn't arrived in time then though... What if...'

His eyes comforted her, and she decided to just keep looking into them... But then she lost courage, feeling that maybe Dodger could see right into her, and what she was thinking. She lay her head on his shoulder and held him tight.

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When Emmy had stopped crying and calmed down, they 'bought' some bread, and walked slowly back to the house, eating it.

"Are you feelin', erm, any better now?" Dodger asked tentatively, worried he might trigger another bout of tears.

"Yeah, much better now... I'll be myself soon" Emmy replied quietly.

Dodger sighed roughly, trying to block out the 'smallness' in Emmy's voice, the defeated sound that he had never heard before.

"D'you want to tell the others?" he asked

"I s'pose they'll find out anyway... We'll tell Annie, Charlie, Ace and Barnsey, that's all..."

Dodger felt so sorry for Emmy that he thought his heart was about to burst out of his chest,

"I think you should talk to Nancy" he blurted out "I bet she'd make you feel better"

"Yeah, I probably will..."

Sensing (possibly a little too late) that Emmy was not enjoying the conversation, Dodger shut up, and they walked in a silence that was not uncomfortable, back to the house.

Well!

I know that was a bit short, but oh well.

Please review and tell me what you think :)

Thanks

Blackfishyxxxx

PS - next chapter is more light hearted :)